Shoe and the manufacture thereof



May 1, 1934. -F. R. MERRITT SHOE AND THE MANUFACTURE THEREOF Filed Nov.27, 1931 Patented May 1, 1934 UNITED STATES SHOE AND THE MANUFACTURETHEREOF Frank R. Merritt, HaverhilhMass assignor to United ShoeMachinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J., a corporation of New JerseyApplication November 2'7, 1931, Serial No. 577,426

7 Claims.-

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of shoes andis herein illustrated with special reference to its applicability to themanufacture of shoes having cement-attached outsoles.

It is an object of my invention to provide shoes having a simple andneat but attractive ornamentation. As illustrated herein suchornamentation comprises a stripe on the marginal portion of the soleadjacent to the shoe upper and of a color or material contrasting withthe material of the shoe upper. Such a stripe may be simply analeffectively produced, in accordance with my invention, by securing astrip of celluloid to the sole before the sole is attached to the shoe,the strip extending peripherally of the sole at its attaching face.

In the manufacture of shoes having cementattached soles it is customaryto roughen the marginal portion of the attaching face of thesole andthen to coat the roughened area with pyroxylin cement. As a result ofthis roughening, dificulty is met with in finishing the marginal portionof the upper-engaging surface of the sole which extends in the finishedshoe somewhat beyond the shoe upper. This dimculty has substantiallylimited this type of work to shoes having very closely trimmed soles.The present invention overcomes this dimculty since the roughenedmarginal portion of the sole. is overlaid with a strip of smoothmaterial, illustrated ascelluloid, which, for this purpose, need not beof a color contrasting'with the material of the shoe upper.

' My invention in its method aspects comprises an improved method ofmanufacturing shoes and an improved method of preparing soles forattachment to shoes. In other aspects it comprises an improved shoe, andan improved outsole for a shoe.

With the above and other objects and features in view the invention willnow be described with reference to the accompanying drawing and pointedout in the claims.

In the drawing,

Fig, 1 is a plan view of an outsole prepared in accordance with myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a strip of celluloid died out for attachment tothe sole, as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the sole on the line III-III of Fig.l; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a shoe embodying my invention.

In manufacturing shoes in accordance with my invention as hereinillustrated, the outsole 10 is died out or otherwise cut toapproximately its final form, being left, however, slightly larger thanthe size to which it is to be finished so as to allow for the removal ofa small amount of stock in the usual edge trimming operation. The sole10 is roughened at its attaching surface over an area three quarters ofan inch wide, more or less, and extending from somewhat rearwardly ofthe heel breast line forwardly about the toe of the shoe and back to theheel breast line on the other side, the rearmost part of therougheningbeing indicated at 12 in Fig. 1. A strip of celluloid 14,illustrated in Fig. 2, is prepared, for example by dieing it out fromsheet celluloid, and is secured to the attaching surface of the sole 10as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. As

illustrated herein, this strip extends about the forepart of the sole atand adjacent to the edge of its attaching face, terminating at theforward end of the shank portion. It should be understood, however, thatthis strip may be extended' rearwardly of, that location if desired. Thestrip 14 of celluloid is preferably cemented to the attaching face ofthe solelO. That may be done, for example, by applying pyroxylin cementto the appropriate portion of the surface of the sole 10, letting thecement dry, coating it with a small amount-of a suitable softener andmoistening the strip of celluloid with a solvent, for example acetone,and applying it in that condition to the sole. The nature of celluloidis such that it is not necessary under these conditions to maintain thesole under pressure for any substantial time. All that is nec-. essaryis to apply a relatively light pressure for an instant, as by gentlyrubbing or pressing manually. Under some circumstances, indeed, it issufiicient merely to moisten the strip of celluloid with a suitablesoftener and to apply it directly to the outsole without the previousapplication of cement to the outsole. The operation may be performed inthis way if, for example, the sole is to be attached to a shoe bythrough-andthrough stitching, the stitches passing through the strip ofcelluloid. It should be noted, more-, over, that it is not essentialthat the strip ofcelluloid be out exactly to conform to the shape of theforepart of the shoe. The treatment of the celluloid with a softenersuch as that mentioned above renders it sufliciently flexible so that itcan be conformed to the shape of the sole of the shoe without difiicultyeven though originally it departed substantially from that shape. Thusthe strips of celluloid may be died. out in only a few different sizes,each size beinc Ill

ing sufficient to take care of soles of a group of adjacent sizes.Similarly, it is not necessary to die out the strips in difierent shapesto take care of different soles varying somewhat in shape, for examplein width or in the curvature of the toe.

In the manufacture of shoes having cementattached soles, a coating 16 ofpyroxylin cement is applied to the roughened portion of the sole 10 andpreferably also to the inner portion of the exposed surface of the strip14 of celluloid, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. The sole is thencement-attached to a shoe the bottom of which has been roughened andcoated with pyroxylin cement as is usual in the manufacture of shoes ofthat type. After this the shoe with the sole cement attached thereto isremoved from the cement sole attaching machine and a heel 20 (Fig. 4) isattached thereto and the edge of the sole trimmed and set in the usualmanner. The edge trimming operation removes not only the surplus stockat the edge of the sole but trims off the marginal portion of the strip14 of celluloid leaving a narrow stripe or band 22 of celluloid adjacentto the shoe upper and terminating at the finished edge 24 of the sole,as shown in Fig. 4.

Various pleasing ornamental effects, desirable particularly for womensnovelty shoes, may be attained by the aid of -my invention. Thus thestripe of celluloid may take the form of a very narrow band, as will bethe case if the edge of the sole is trimmed quite closely. Under suchcircumstances a pleasing effect can be obtained by using celluloid of acolor which contrasts notably with the color of the shoe upper as, forexample, a red strip of celluloid contrasting with a black upper; or ifthe sole is not trimmed so closely a somewhat wider band of color willbe produced. Under these circumstances it may be preferred to,usecelluloid of a color which will contrast less vigorously with the shoeupper as, for example, a light green or medium green strip of celluloidwith a dark green shoe upper.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentof the sole whereby, when the edge trimming operationis performed on the finished shoe, the sole will be left with a narrowstrip of the celluloid visible about the forepart of the 'sole of theshoe adjoining the shoe upper, and apply ing a coat of pyroxylin cementto the inner portion of the attached strip of celluloid as well as tothe adjacent portion of the attaching surface of the sole.

2. As an article of manufacture an outsole to be cement attached to ashoe, the sole having a strip of colored celluloid secured to themarginal portion of its attaching face and extending to the edgethereof, and being provided with a coat of pyroxylin cement extendingalso over at least the inner portion of the strip of celluloid.

3. As an article of manufacture, an outsole to be cement attached to ashoe, the marginal portion of the sole being roughened on its attachingface at its shank and forepart, the sole having a strip of coloredcelluloid cemented to the marginal portion of its forepart at andadjacent to the edge of its attaching face, and the roughened portion ofthe sole being provided with a coat of pyroxylin cement extending alsoover at least the inner portion of the strip of celluloid.

4. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprisessecuring a strip of celluloid to the marginal portion of the attachingface of a sole, applying to the marginal portion of said face of thesole a coat of pyroxylin cement extending over at least the innerportion of the strip of celluloid as well as the adjacent portion of theface of the sole, and attaching the sole to a shoe with said cement.

5. That improvement in methods of manufacturing shoes which comprisesroughening the marginal portion of the attaching surface of a sole,securing to the outer portion of the rough-. ened area a strip ofcelluloid, applying to the marginal portion of said face of the sole acoat of pyroxylin cement extending over at least the.

inner portion of the strip of celluloid as well as the adjacentroughened portion of the face of the sole, letting the cement dry, andthereafter activating it, applying the sole to a suitably prepared shoebottom, and holding the shoe and sole under pressure while the cementsets.

6. A shoe having a cement-attached outsole with a strip of coloredmaterial upon the marginal portion of the attached face of the outsoleextending about the forepart of the shoe, the sole attaching cementadhering to the inner portion of the strip of colored material as wellas to the adjacent portion of the attaching face of the sole.

7. A shoe having a strip of celluloid cemented to the marginal portionof the attaching face of its outsole, the outsole being attached to theshoe bottom by pyroxylin cement adhering to the inner portion of thestrip of celluloid as well as to the adjacent portion of the attachingface of the outsole.

FRANK R. IVIERRI'I'I.

